Today at the netWORKri One-Stop Career Center in West Warwick, Governor Donald L. Carcieri announced the Industry Skills Development Initiative, a $3.3 million collaboration among public agencies and private industry designed to raise the skill levels of Rhode Island workers in strategically

“While the General Assembly has fully supported developing renewable energy projects in Rhode Island, I am concerned that Governor Carcieri has unilaterally moved Deepwater Wind to the front of the line when major questions remain about their experience and background.

These economic layoffs are thought to be the first in the paper's lengthy history. As a result, the ProJo's "In Her Shoes" women's initiative is said to be on hold, and there is talk -- unconfirmed at this point -- that the paper may close its remaining bureaus in Rhode Island.

One wonders how the fiscal crisis will hurt small businesses in Rhode Island. The cause seems unrelated in this instance, though, and the BDH has the story of how the venerable sex shop is history.

A locked door, a dark, almost bare interior and a large sign reading "Space for Lease" in red letters. Today, that's all that greets visitors and customers to what was once Wickenden Street's popular sex store, Miko Exoticwear.

Dean Starkman, a one-time ace scribe on Fountain Street, has an early post-mortem on the role played by the business press in our current fiscal crisis.

Some excerpts:

For the business press, there are only two options when considering what has happened here, neither particularly good. Either the business press institutionally provided appropriate arms-length scrutiny of the financial-services industry, including investigative work, opinion, analysis and rigorous beat reporting that provided decision-makers, including readers, with fair warnings of the coming collapse, and it was ignored, or it didn’t do the work in the first place.

Former Bill Clinton adviser Dick Morris, who is credited with helping to introduce "triangulation" into the political lexicon, will be the special guest during a fundraiser this evening (6:30 pm, Westerly Yacht Club) for Mark Zaccaria, US Representative Jim Langevin's Republican opponent.

Saul Kaplan of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation and Andrew Dzykewicz, the governor's energy czar, join Tim White, Arlene Violet and myself to talk about the planned off-shore wind farm and related topics. The show will be broadcast Sunday, at 5:30 am on Channel 12, and at 10 am on Fox 64.

Also joining us is Christine Lopes, the departing head of Common Cause of Rhode Island.

The Brown University chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy ( SSDP) sponsored a lecture last night featuring Jeffrey A. Miron, libertarian economist and Director of Undergraduate Studies at Harvard University. Mr. Miron is the author of Drug War Crimes: The Consequences of Prohibition; his particular focus last night was contrasting the libertarian approach (complete legalization of all drugs) with that of liberals (some marijuana is okay sometimes, but the other stuff should be controlled).